Boris Johnson suggests Brexit could fund NHS

Boris Johnson said Vote Leave had underestimated the amount that Britain gives to Brussels each weekMATT CARDY/GETTY IMAGES

Boris Johnson has suggested that additional NHS funding should come from the Brexit dividend rather than a new tax.

The foreign secretary joined the heated debate among senior Conservatives about how much to put into the NHS after the funding settlement runs out in 2020 and how to pay for it.

Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, is prepared to look at a new tax among other options, The Times revealed yesterday. Nick Boles, the Tory MP for Grantham & Stamford, has backed an additional levy, as has Nick Macpherson, former permanent secretary to the Treasury.

However, Mr Johnson told The Guardian that the cash should come from funds now paid to Brussels that may be available after Brexit, depending on how much the UK continues…

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